The project of the house refurbishment commenced March 2012. It was completely entrusted to Mr Ivo Roncevic SLANE, 23274 Lukoran (Graditeljski obrt "SLANE").
The friendly and trustful relation, which at the beginning appeared to be existing between us, turned ugly after it became obvious that the agreed terms and quality will not be delivered. Unfortunately, at that point almost all of the money had already been paid.
If you are living 700 kilometers away from the construction site you need someone you trust to oversee the building process and takes care of the quality.
My wife and I had been assured and we believed, Mr Ivo Roncevic SLANE was that person. However, he did not prove to be the right person in a position of trust.
Not only that he did not take proper care of the process quality, he even prevented some of the workers to complete their work, thus saving money for himself on their daily pay! This resulted in a widespread slapdash work.
Furthermore, Mr Ivo Roncevic SLANE proved not to be the expert for whom he represented himself, which resulted in some grave construction errors.
A few examples:
- Solar Thermal Hot Water System - solar thermal collector facing north!
- Attic Hatch - wrongly positioned above the stairs and impossible to use.
- Bathroom equipment - out-fashioned, resulting in unnecessary waste of precious space.
- Floor levels uneven - the doors cannot be completely shut.
- Roof drain pipe - slapdash work.
- Exterior doors - not insulated properly.
- ... etc.
After fixing some of the errors, the rest of them is left for me to find a solution. The access to the attic remained as the hardest of the unsolved problems - obviously, there is no simple solution to it. Mr Ivo Roncevic SLANE got injured while presenting and trying out the last of the attic ladders. He left and stopped responding. His last message to me: "I do not want to see you anymore!".
We have never managed to reach a settlement. He left the registered letter, which I sent to him demanding the correction of the defects, unanswered. The only way left for me is to take the case to the court. But, everyone, really everyone in Croatia discouraged me regarding this.
Explanation: Croatian courts!
There may be someone who needs services in the construction business in Croatia. Someone, who is not quite familiar with the situation there.
Not all builders are like this one, but lately I have heard that cases like this are not that uncommon there. A caution is advisable!
Good luck!